Goku's first mentor. A hermit whose home is located on a small island in the middle of the ocean. Very strong (at least at the start of the series) and with a keen eye. Also very perverted and usually hits on any pretty tail that comes his way.

Awesome, but Impractical: His Max Power form makes him strong enough to destroy entire mountains and the Moon with a single Kamehameha, but the muscle increase greatly slows him down, and using even one Ki Attack will burn him out. As of Resurrection 'F', he's more mobile and can use more than one energy attack while in that state.

Brilliant, but Lazy: Roshi was, for a long time, one of the most powerful people on the planet. However, he spends his days watching porn and exercise videos, letting his students save the earth rather than get off his island.

Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: He came the closest to stopping King Piccolo by using the Evil Containment Wave to seal him into a rice cooker. He misses the cooker and dies soon afterwards, allowing Piccolo to get his wish to regain his youth.

He retires from fighting during the second tournament arc, admitting that the new generation is both stronger and no longer needs his guidance. During later story arcs he expresses frustration at not being able to help during the major fights. Though, considering how strong Freeza, Cell and especially both Buu and Beerus were, he wouldn't had a chance.

Averted as of Resurrection of 'F. He takes on Frieza's henchmen with ease and Toriyama states that he could have always been that strong, and started to train himself rigorously again.

In Dragon Ball Super, he's chosen to be a part of the team in the multiverse tournament, while Yamcha, Goten and Trunks, are not. This is partly because, due to the way the competition is organized, combat experience is as equally important as raw strength.

Chick Magnet: He's perfectly capable of getting women if he wanted to. As Jackie Chun, girls even asked for his autograph before his fight with Man-Wolf.

Clark Kenting: His disguise of Jackie Chun involves taking off his shades and putting on a wig. Only Yamcha saw through it until Roshi tricked him and Goku didn't think he was Master Roshi since they didn't smell the same, Roshi covered his scent with perfume.

Comedic Sociopathy: He's a perverted old man who would be in jail for sexual assault if he was a real person. Him being regularly beaten up by Bulma, Blond Launch, and Android 18 is karma for the most part and invokes almost no sympathy for anyone.

Confusion Fu: When he's using his Drunken Master technique. He pretends to be drunk to make his movements unpredictable. This works extremely well against Goku since he can't copy this technique since he has never been drunk.

Cool Old Guy: Back in Dragon Ball. Regains most of this status in Super and Resurrection ‘F’

Cool Shades: Never without them since he fought as Jackie Chun in the 22nd Tenkaichi Tournament.

He's normally a goof and a Dirty Old Man, but when he decides to get serious he is a very skilled fighter with the power to destroy the moon with one shot, making him one of the biggest badasses in original Dragon Ball up to even as far up in the timeline as The World's Strongest movie.

The sunglasses, Hawaiian shirts and (most of) the sex jokes fall by the wayside during the King Piccolo arc, as he takes charge of the situation.

Taken to extremes where it's revealed via Resurrection ‘F’ that he could have stood up to a few of the Z villains if he'd bothered trying rather than letting his students take care of everything.

Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Mafuba (Evil Containment Wave in the dub), this is the technique that Master Mutaito used to seal King Piccolo during his original rampage. The attack requires so much energy that it kills the user, as Master Mutaito died from using. Master Roshi attempts to use the Evil Containment Wave to reseal King Piccolo after he escapes, but he not only does he misses the rice cooker, he end up dying like his master. In Super, he reluctantly teaches the Evil Containment Wave to Goku since it's the only way to defeat Future Zamasu who is an immortal.

A Day in the Limelight: The second DBZ movie, The World's Strongest, gave him a pretty big role, helping Goku and friends fight against Dr. Wheelo. Revival of F also gave him a considerable role, helping to fight off Frieza's army. The Universe Survival arc in Super has a whole episode dedicated to him taking out 3 of Universe 4's fighters.

Demoted to Extra: In Z and GT to ridiculous degrees like everyone else. By the time Dragon Ball Z rolls around, the only purpose he really serves is just having a house for all the characters to frequently meet up at in-between fights or for the non-fighting characters to wait around while watching TV. In Super, he does get a little more screen time since the series retells Resurrection 'F', in which he fights Frieza's men, and he teaches Goku the Evil Containment Wave. He is also chosen to be part of the Universe 7's team for the Universe Survival Saga.

Dirty Old Man: Probably one of the most recognizable anime examples. He provides the page image, having made perving on women his favorite pastime. He has a steady supply of girly mags, is easily distracted by any female that catches his eye, and will cop a feelat every given opportunity. Roshi always ends up paying for it, but he'll just do it again anyway. In Dragon Ball Super, he realizes these tendencies are his greatest weakness, and undergoes training to learn to control his urges... and in the Tournament of Power, we see this actually worked, as he does not fall for a female opponent's attempts to seduce him.

Doting Parent: Whenever Master Roshi spends quality time with young Goku and Krillin (such as eating with them, playing with them and teaching them how to read and write) and whenever he affectionately pats their heads in praise. For the both now-adult warriors, he is the closest thing they have to a father. Especially for Krillin, as he ends up living with Roshi through the rest of the series (even when he gets married and has a kid!).

Eccentric Mentor: To Goku, Yamcha, and Krillin. He is a big pervert who spends his days reading and watching porn, and hitting on hot women. He was also the strongest man in the world until Goku's generation.

Forgotten Phlebotinum: In the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, he almost defeats Goku using an electricity-based attack that paralyzes the nerves, leaving the target helpless. This potential Story-Breaker Power is never mentioned again, until Roshi is suddenly catapulted back to relevance in Super and uses the technique against Tien while under mind control.

Genius Bruiser: He has many years of wisdom, as well as being the strongest human at the start of the series

Horrifying the Horror: Despite being much weaker than King Piccolo, he manages to scare the Demon King shitless by revealing that he knows the Evil Containment Wave. Although Roshi fails to trap Piccolo and dies, Piccolo is left shaking on the ground for several seconds.

I Am Not Left-Handed: In most of his fights, he appears to be a wrinkly old man. However, he can bulk up to Hulk-like levels with his MAX power. Also, there's his immense collection of techniques and tricks, including hypnosis and shooting lightning from his hands.

I Was Quite a Looker: Claims he was very attractive when he was young. In a filler storyline, Goku went back in time and met the young Roshi, who showed there was truth to his claim.

When looking at an old photo of him even Bulma commented he looked attractive.

Living Legend: When he was introduced, Master Roshi was revered as the God of Martial Arts and the World's Strongest Man; in the episode "Tien's Atonement," he's even able to get Tien off the hook for a murder accusation just through his personal endorsement.

Lovable Sex Maniac: Roshi is seriously perverted but he's shown to be a really nice person at several points.

Man Child: Master Roshi is of old age, but behaves like a child. A very perverted child.

Master-Apprentice Chain: He is the master to a number of characters who pass his style to the next generation, giving him one of the longest chains in the series: Mutaito and Korin > Master Roshi > Son Gohan, Sr and Ox-King > Son Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, and Chi-Chi > Son Gohan, Son Goten, Pan, and Uub

Mentor Occupational Hazard: Sacrifices his life to try and reseal King Piccolo, only for the attempt to fail. He does get resurrected later, although by that point has role as mentor has been passed to other characters.

Roshi: You haven't won. Your dark dreams will never come true. Somewhere, someone will succeed where I failed. Until that day, live in fear. You will fall. We're only human... but... but we will survive. We will... survive...

Roshi [Latin American dub]: I...I thought..that this would bring your end and all would return to normal, but unfortunately I was wrong. I have the hope that someday, someone more powerful than you..will be able to finish you and save the whole world, of that I'm sure...it wouldn't be fair to be wrong.

Obsolete Mentor: For everyone but Krillin by the start of Z. Even Krillin is mentioned as explicitly being stronger than him in the very beginning when Bulma gets the Scouter working. This gets Subverted somewhat in Super, since Goku goes to him to learn the Mafuba, called the Evil Containment Wave in the dub. During the tournament arc, Goku and Krillin also went to him specifically to re-train their basics, and he was actually able to teach them a thing or two. So, yeah, his students may be stronger than him, but his wisdom definitely makes him not obsolete.

Old Master: Was once the strongest man in the world and mentor to several of the main characters, and they still think of him as their master despite most of them being stronger than him.

Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is never revealed throughout the series, only the titles Muten Roushi ("Martial Arts Heavenly Old Sage") and Kame Sen'nin ("Turtle Hermit").

The Peeping Tom: Muten tried to use Bulma inventions for this twice. Before, he used a watch that can shrink the person who is wearing it as a way to spy on Bulma while she is on the toilet, but failed. Again, when he used Bulma's little fly robot to spy some girls on the beach.

Took a Level in Badass: During the lead up to the Tournament of Power, Goku realizes Roshi has gotten stronger over the years. It's not nearly at the level the Z Fighters are usually fighting at, but Roshi can hold his own against opponents at roughly the same tier as base level Goku. As icing on the cake, he learns to get over his habits as a Dirty Old Man.

Taken Up to Eleven in episode 107, in which Roshi, while exhausted from previous fights, is briefly able to fight off Frost in close combat!

Training from Hell: In-universe, he's infamous for it… And it's actually harsher than rumoured. The exercises he's seen subjecting his pupils to are:

The Milk Run fromHell: delivering milk on foot over vast distances that include climbing a mountain (there's a staircase, but it's still a few kilometers), crossing a river near the top of a waterfall, walking on a fallen tree over a cliff, crossing a desert, and being chased by a dinosaur, all with a single break on top of the mountain. All but the mountain is to be done running, as it's speed training and the delivery has to be made in time. This is only the early morning training;

Plowing a large field bare handed to reinforce their hands. This is done after a short break after the Milk Run from Hell, and before breakfast… Assuming they do the job quick enough to earn the breakfast;

Perform construction work for at least five men, each, to increase physical strength (and earn some money). They can use tools for this, but nothing with an engine;

Swimming across a lake and back for ten times. While chased by a giant shark;

Reflex training is to fight angry bees while tied to a tree. After the shark, this is pretty tame;

After the first day, he has them wear 20 kilos shells on their backs all the time, progressively increasing the weight. He himself wears a 40 kilo shell all the time;

As he knows what he's doing, he gives his pupils only exercises they can deal with (and actually makes sure they're strong enough before accepting them as trainees), grants them enough rest between the exercises, feeds them all they need (even Goku), and takes time to teach them other basic skills such as writing and reading, math (this actually was crucial for Krillin's victory over Chiaotzu: the latter was winning until Krillin distracted him with math questions, and pummelled him when he tried to count on his fingers, as Chiaotzu's teacher had neglected to teach him math), common knowledge, manners, honour, and so on. In fact, the Milk Run from Hell, plowing a field and performing construction work double as legitimate work, so they can learn its value.

Tritagonist: For First and Second Tournament Arc and King Piccolo Arc.

Wake-Up Call Boss: Serves as this when disguise as Jackie Chun. He easily beats Yamcha and Krillin, and hands Goku his first real defeat, showing them that they still have a lot to learn. He is also the first one to really challenge Tien, although he surrendered.

Warrior Poet: Rarely shows it clearly, but his wisdom is undeniable-and more covertly, his Training from Hell includes lessons of basic skills such as reading, writing and counting, and teaches both the value of hard work and some hard but useful professions.

Wax On, Wax Off: His method of training includes having his students work by delivering milk by foot at the break of dawn, then sowing fields with their bare hands, then helping out at a construction site, all the while wearing heavy turtle shells on their backs. And boy, does it pay off.

Roshi's hat in the Universe Survival Saga; he may not have a ton of raw power, but he has a lot of experience on top of his unconventional techniques such as hypnosis, the Evil Containment Wave, and his paralysis technique. During his one-on-one fight with Ganos, the latter is explicitly stated to be much stronger and faster, but Roshi beats him anyway because he can easily read Ganos' movements and turn his own power against him, leading him to be the third consecutive fighter from Universe 4 that Roshi knocked out.

This doesn't hold up terribly well when facing an opponent who was powerful and cunning. Roshi got stomped by Frost, had to resort to the Evil Containment Wave, but ended up missing after his stamina was drained. He tried it again for Magetta, but Frost intercepted it and turned it on Vegeta. Roshi was able to salvage the situation by using a directed ki blast to shatter the bottle and free Vegeta.

We Used to Be Friends: Him and the Crane Hermit used to be friends who trained under the same master. That is until King Piccolo corrupted Shen and they became bitter rivals.

World's Strongest Man: He was, at one point, the most powerful human being on the planet. He has lost this position by the time of Z. By Dragon Ball Super however, he has become the most powerful flightless human, and, more notably, the most powerful flightless mortal in Universe 7.

Wowing Cthulhu: His successes in the Tournament of Power are so great that he impresses Beerus.

Would Hit a Girl: Inverted when he is habitually beaten by the majority of the female cast, and he never makes any effort to fight back. He just takes the beatings. He is a creepy old hermit, but still...

In Dragon Ball Super, he had no problems fighting Yurin, and he states that he will fight the female combatants of the Tournament of Power. It seems that while he normally will not fight women, he makes exceptions if they are causing evil or need to be defeated to save the universe.

Alternatively, the hits he gets from women he pervs on aren't fights, and most of them aren't fighters. He doesn't bring out the kung-fu skills against them for the same reason most wouldn't seriously fight someone who simply slapped them in the face a single time.

Wrestler in All of Us: At the end of the 21st Tenkaichi considers using the Cobra Twist and the Figure 4 Leglock to defeat Goku before discarding them due Goku's excessively small size. We later see him using his considerable grappling skills against Tenshinhan in the following tournament, to such great effect it would have been a very quick victory by ring-out had Ten not been able to fly.

Yamcha was a desert bandit, Bulma's first love, and Goku's first rival. Even in the original series, Yamcha was often used as the primary victim of the Worf Effect, hardly winning any important fights despite being one of the most powerful protagonists. By Z he was pretty much a target to show how tough the villains were, so much so that around the Buu Saga he gave up fighting entirely (except for fillers in which he somehow defeated enemies even Goku had trouble with a few years before).

Yamcha was the series' originator for a lot of the tropes and quirks that would later be popularized by characters like Krillin, Tenshinhan, Piccolo, and Vegeta. The Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy, rival-turned-friend, Butt-Monkey, Mr. Exposition, and "bad boy" roles these characters fulfill all started with him. Even Gohan and Future Trunks draw from him; they both inherited his shy awkwardness, sword fighting, and long-haired character designs.

Accidental Pervert: Quite lots in earlier chapters of the manga, when his fear of women is still intact, no less. Such as when he accidentally watched Bulma take a bath and likely touched Bulma's boobs when she was naked while sleeping.

The Ace: During the baseball episode of Super, being the only player on either team with any skill (or knowledge in general) in the game.

Adaptational Badass: He fares either worse or better in the anime. Yamcha does more in anime only battles and situations, but sometimes he comes off better in the manga's version of events (an example of this is Yamcha had no trouble holding down Great Ape Goku in the manga).

Amicable Exes: He maintained a close relationship with Bulma after their breakup. Even telling Future Trunks about Vegeta going Papa Wolf on Cell to make him feel better.

Always Second Best: The first of many characters to always be behind Goku despite given him a decent challenge when they first met. He is also the overall weakest of the Turtle School (not counting Ox King and Gohan Sr.).

In his debut, Yamcha was this (exceptaroundBulma). He lost most of this after his Heel–Face Turn. Yamcha usually has an Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy moment every time he gets a large increase in power from training. Perhaps this trait of his was finally lost during his fight against Shen in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. Coming into the match, Yamcha was absolutely sure of his victory, but after being embarrassed by some of Shen's moves, Shen chastises Yamcha for his arrogance, saying that Yamcha's overconfidence on his own strength as well as his opponent's appearance made him blind to the subtlety of Shen's attacks. After listening to Shen's lecture, Yamcha seemed to have wised up, even managing to land a good hit on Shen before losing, and becomes a lot more focused and dependable on the fights that followed.

His arrogance did return in the Saiyan Saga. After he easily beat the second Saibaman, he challenges Nappa and Vegeta, and says he will fight all the Saibamen at once. This caused him to lower his guard, allowing the defeated Saibaman to grab him and blow him up.

Art Evolution: During most of the original Dragon Ball series, Yamcha had small eyes that were shaped similar to Tenshinhan's eyes. It wasn't until the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai that his eyes started looking more like Goku's.

Ascended Meme: His infamous death pose is referenced every once in a while. In Super's Episode 70, he even makes it, crater and all (alive, this time), when he steals a base.

Barbarian Longhair: His most frequent hairstyle. He mentioned his short haircut was at Bulma's request (Goku couldn't even recognize him when he first showed up with his new 'do) and could be considered an example of him trying to change from an outlaw in the desert to ordinary citizen in the city.

Becoming the Mask: He initially assisted Goku and the others in gathering the Dragon Balls with the intention of stealing them once they got all seven. It wasn't until the events at Pilaf's castle that he and Puar became friends with them for real.

Being Good Sucks: The reason Yamcha fought the Saibamen was to protect Krillin, who wanted to go next. As he pointed out, Krillin was revived already with the Dragon Balls so him dying would have been permanent, while Yamcha could be revived if the worst happens. For his good deed, Yamcha gets suicide bombed by the Saibaman, making him the first casualty of the Saiyan Invasion and he never even gets the chance to fight Nappa. And worst of all, the fandom won't ever let him live this down.

Bishōnen: Yamcha's been described as "good looking in a boyish sort of way" and "a pretty boy." Very slightly lessened after he gets his scars.

Big Damn Heroes: Saves Goku when he was being pummeled by the Rabbit Mob who held Bulma hostage. Also invoked in the same arc, when Yamcha lends the stranded heroes a ride, as part of his plan.

Breaking the Fourth Wall: In both metaphorical AND literal sense of break. In the 8th chapter of manga Son Goku sends Yamcha in the air with his punch but Yamcha breaks and bounces off the frame's border back to the ground. See for yourself.

Butt-Monkey: He has it worse than Krillin. From his first appearance it was always something of a Running Gag that Yamcha was unlucky. And while he puts up a fight, he NEVER gets past the first round of the tournament (an exception being in Mystical Adventure). He never even gets to fight Vegeta and Nappa with the others; he gets distracted and killed in a Suicide Attack by a Saibaman. In the Android Saga, he gets badly injured by Dr. Gero who puts a hand through his chest and nearly dies. Oh, and then his girlfriend has Vegeta's baby. During the Universal Surviving Saga, he expects to be asked to join the U7 team and waits at home for an invitation. Goku never considers him even when Buu needed to be replaced. Poor guy just can't catch a break.

Cannot Talk to Women: Used to be like this to such a degree that he couldn't even be around women without freaking out. After spending time around Bulma in the Pilaf Saga, and even picking her up to get her to safety at one point, Yamcha mostly gets over his phobia (although he sometimes still does show some nervous tendencies around beautiful women).

Can't Catch Up: Yamcha retires from fighting after the Cell Saga. He Lampshades it himself when, unlike Krillin, he decides to forgo participating in the 25th World Tournament.

Chick Magnet: Being a handsome guy, he is very popular among girls. In Dragon Ball, he even has his own fan club.

Combat Commentator: Yamcha's apparently read up on all of the local legends and famous martial artists: he's able to identify Goku's bo staff, Master Roshi, Grandpa Gohan, Ox-King, and the rabbit boss. He even knew that Roshi was the one who trained Gohan and Ox King, and that the two of them were best friends.

Comedic Sociopathy: Mostly in the first story arc where he tries to kill a 12-year-old Goku and robs people for a living. He also planned to steal the Dragon Balls and cripple Goku by grabbing his tail, all just to wish away his fear of women. So, him being constantly humiliated by having Bulma grab him and his amusing injures were a joy to watched.

Composite Character: Initially Toryama used Sha Gojo from Journey to the West for the character. A likely prototype design for Yamcha was the title character to Akira Toriyama's one-shot Pink. Although Pink is a female, she also is a bandit living in a desert hideout who has an animal companion and rides a flying vehicle similar to Yamcha's Jet Squirrel. After cutting his long hair for the first time in the series, Yamcha looks very similar to the character Tsukutsun Tsun from Dr. Slump in both appearance and characteristics.

Centipede's Dilemma: Inverted. He thought he was cursed with the inability to talk to or even be around women, and for that reason, once he learned about the existence of the Dragon Balls, he decided to use them to wish away his fear of women. Much to his surprise, by the end of a long period of time where he was forced to be around Bulma, Yamcha learned that his fear of women was all in his head, and that it was only when he consciously invoked it on himself that he felt uncomfortable around women. Shortly afterwards, he and Bulma started dating.

Commuting on a Bus: It's pretty easy to forget that he and Puar were among the first characters introduced into the story.

A Day in the Limelight: In Dragon Ball Super's 70th episode, Champa decides to play baseball against Beerus and brings their universes' fighters together to do it. As someone who actually plays baseball for a living, Yamcha is the only one besides umpires Whis and Vados to know a darn thing about what they're doing. While he suffers a ton of Amusing Injuries he manages to give the other team a run for its money by stealing bases in true bandit style and wins the game by stealing home during a battle between the Gods of Destruction...despite ending up in his memetic death pose to do so. We also see how his training affects his baseball game, since he uses Wolf Fang Fist and Spirit Ball to expertly control any ball he pitches.

Determinator: Yamcha's pretty eager to fight most of the time, he eagerly volunteered to fight King Piccolo when his leg was broken. Until he goes down against #20, at which point he calls it quits (he still tags along with the others at the Cell Games, but only sits at the sidelines).

Deus Angst Machina: Yamcha and Bulma's breakup was never explained, though this was mostly due to Toriyama's disinterest in romance and romantic relationships.

Funimation changes his dialogue more than most characters. For example Bulma being mad at Yamcha for canceling a date due to being broke, became him taking another girl out to a concert in the dub. Even in Kai, Funimation changed a line of Yamcha saying he's got to help Goku with "I'll be there" to "I'll just watch".

Perhaps one of the most cruel cases happens in the Lookout, as Bulma fondly remembers Goku. Chi-Chi teases her, saying that Bulma is in love with Goku, but she should give up, because Chi-Chi is prettier. Yamcha then says that Chi-Chi looks very pretty today, which makes Chi-Chi upset, because that implies that she doesn't always look pretty. In the Dub Text, Chi-Chi suggests that, since Bulma likes Goku so much, they should trade husbands: Bulma gets Goku and Chi-Chi gets Vegeta. Yamcha then says that he is available, to which Chi-Chi responds that she wants an even trade, not a downgrade (though he appeared to take her comment as the friendly joke it was intended to be).

Yamcha is generally shown as pretty forgiving, possibly due to being bad once himself. When Tenshinhan apologizes for breaking his leg, he just shrugs and says its nothing.

Once he stopped trying to prove he was better than Vegeta, they seemed to get along pretty well. He's even paid the prince a genuine compliment once or twice.

Hilariously, at one point, Tenshinhan criticizes Yamcha for making nice with Vegeta.

Empowered Badass Normal: He has alway been very strong for a normal human. He was able to trade blows with Goku and knock him back, even if Goku was hungry at the time. He was also able to make it to the final eight of the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament without any formal training, unlike Goku and Krillin. By the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, he taught himself the Kamehameha. At the 23rd, he learned a powerful technique known as the Spirit Ball that nearly knocked Shen (Kami's human host) to the ground.

Enemy Mine: When they were still ostensibly enemies, he helped Goku against the Rabbit Mob.

The Everyman: He is perhaps one of the most relatable characters among the Z warriors. For instance, he is commonly seen wearing outfits other than his combat gear and he has been shown driving vehicles like sky cars and airships instead of flying everywhere like most of the other characters. He also has grounded interests like romance, sports and is actually concerned with having money, as opposed to most of the other protagonists, who do not seem to work at all and spend most of their time training. A notable example of how normal he is happens at the end of the Cell Saga, when the other protagonists are struggling to think of one last wish to be granted by Shenron. Yamcha suggests that, since nobody else could think of any important uses for that wish, they should wish for something for themselves, like lots of money. The other characters silently stare at him as if shocked that he would ever as much as consider using one of the wishes for purposes that are not altruistic. In response, Yamcha timidly apologizes and agrees to leave the last wish to Krillin.

Failure Hero: In Z Yamcha seldom wins clear victories outside of fillers (and never important ones). Though he's had his moments in filler.

Fighting with Chucks: Uses a three section staff at one point in the Legend of Shen Long. Yamcha is also seen holding Nun chucks in the anime version of the King Piccolo arc.

Graceful Loser: Was polite and respectful to Jackie Chun and Kami when they beat him in the World Tournament. He was the first to clap when Tenshinhan decided to turn over a new leaf. He's also very friendly to Trunks, his ex's son. They're shown watching TV together and Yamcha is the one who tells him about Vegeta's reaction to his death.

Hard Work Hardly Works: He was shown to do Training from Hell prior to the Buu Saga. Taken to the extreme in the Piccolo Jr. Saga; he worked like a dog for the tournament for three years, created a brand new technique from scratch... and still lost in his first match.

Love Martyr: Explained to Puar, this was basically why he puts up with Bulma's mistreatment in Dragon Ball.

Martial Arts Uniform: After he begins training under Roshi for the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, he adopts the same uniform as Goku and Krillin, but like Krillin only wears it when actively training or fighting.

Master-Apprentice Chain: He trained under Master Roshi and became a master under the Turtle School: Mutaito > Master Roshi > Yamcha

Mysterious Past: We have no clue what Yamcha or Puar did before they were desert bandits.

Now, Let Me Carry You: When Goku falls sick during the battle with the androids, Yamcha, who has been protected and saved by Goku several times, physically carries him back to his house and helps care for him along with his wife.

Nice Guy: As an Adult, Yamcha is one of the more chill and forgiving characters.

Older Than He Looks: Despite being an ordinary human, Yamcha looks about the same at 57 in Dragon Ball GT.

Overshadowed by Awesome: Do note that, by the Cell arc, he's still strong enough to break aerobic equipment effortlessly. But he's much too far behind his peers.

Prophet Eyes: His eyes turn totally white when he uses the many of his moves like the Wolf Fang Fist.

Really Gets Around: According to Future Trunks, this is the reason Bulma eventually left him for Vegeta in that timeline. What's ironic is that Yamcha was initially extremely shy around girls at the start of the series and said he wanted to get married.

Redemption Demotion: Yamcha generally remained useful in Dragon Ball and in the first arc he and Puar actually saved everyone from Great Ape Goku. In "'Z'' Yamcha was really only useful for distracting villains or taking care of wounded characters.

Retired Badass: After the Cell Games. However, in the anime OVA special, he reveals that he still wears his fighting gi under his suit, suggesting that he still misses fighting.

The Rival: The very first one. Back then, he teamed up with Goku to save Bulma from Monster Carrot.

Surpassed the Teacher: He eventually surpasses all of his masters and becomes one of the strongest humans on Earth.

Superior Successor: By the time of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, he surpassed Master Roshi. He also surpass Kami after training with him to fight the Saiyans.

Taking the Bullet: Ever since his Heel–Face Turn, Yamcha has been shown as willing to sacrifice himself for his friends. In one of the movies, he even painfully catches a boulder about to crush Bulma. His Saibaman death was actually the result of him volunteering ahead to protect Krillin from a second and final death.

This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: In Episode 70 of Super, when Champa challenges Beerus to a baseball match, Yamcha is the only one who has any idea what the hell he's doing, since he spent the timeskip between Dragon Ball and Z playing in the pros.

Throw the Dog a Bone: Dragon Ball Super Episode 70 is one long (and long deserved) one for Yamcha. He still gets his ass kicked and there was nothing important at stake in the first place, but he still ended up being what saved the day and received glowing respect and acclaim from the rest of the Z characters in attendance. Even #18 and Bulma blatantly vocalized their newfound respect for Yamcha.

The Tooth Hurts: During one of their earlier encounters, Goku knocked one of his teeth out. He's reluctant to go to a dentist.

Training from Hell: Yamcha had been shown to go through this a lot of the time, particularly when the date for the World Martial Arts Tournament nears. For the first tournament Yamcha trained alone in the wilderness for a month, the second time with Krillin under Roshi, and the third was for three straight years.

True Companions: Yamcha seemed to have become this for real with the gang when in Pilaf's desert oven. Even getting distressed when Ape Goku was attacked, hard to believe earlier he was planning to beat up Goku to steal the Dragon Balls.

Took a Level in Badass: In Filler, at least, Yamcha sometimes does better. He defeated Recoome, a guy who beat Vegeta to within an inch of his life, while training on King Kai's planet. While training in the Other World along with Krillin, he also defeated some of the top fighters in the tournament that Goku had won while he was there.

Yamcha's Spirit Ball is the first fully controllable ki attack shown in the series. While Yamcha was beaten handily by the powerful Shen in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, he managed to show his combat smarts by, after failing to hit Shen with his Spirit Ball, he made the energy ball travel underground and erupt under Shen's chin, catching him off guard. Shen even complimented Yamcha on his skills after the battle.

He was the second student of the Turtle School to master the Kamehameha and surprised everyone by showing this in the 22nd Budokai.

Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: At the start of the series, he was intimidated by women, such that Bulma's very presence could force him into retreat. He sought the Dragon Balls to help him overcome his phobia. Ultimately, he conquered his fear after spending time around, and eventually dating, Bulma.

Save for Vegeta, no other character got hit with this more. Yamcha suffers from this as early as Dragon Ball, always losing in his first round in the three world tournaments he participates in to show how powerful Jackie Chun, Tenshinhan, and Hero/Shen/Kami are, despite his training. By the time Z came around, Yamcha was the first to fall in the Saiyan Arc and again in the Android Saga.

In the first story arc, Yamcha has the advantage over Goku due to him being hungry. He could have won, but he sees Bulma and runs away since he's terrified of girls. When he fights Goku the next day, Goku beats him with ease.

Would Hit a Girl: Zigzagged. In Dragon Ball, he is forced to knock out Kid Chi-Chi when she attacks him. On the other hand, Yamcha seems unable to strike a beautiful girl in Legend of Shen Long.

Introduced in the second World Martial Arts Tournament arc, Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu were initially rivals to Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha (as they belonged to an opposing dojo to Roshi's). The two eventually become friends to our heroes after realizing the lack of honor in their own methods. They become instrumental in the the next few arcs following their introduction, but by Z their roles had become less and less till they were reduced to cameo appearances and a few references in Dragon Ball GT.

In his fight with Goku at the 22nd World Marital Arts Tournament, his performs better in the anime where he's able to match Goku with Goku only having a slight advantage. In the manga, the fight is far more one-sided with Goku dominating Tien until Chiaotzu paralyzes Goku, allowing Tien to badly injure Goku. Although Tien gets on Chiaotzu for this and allows Goku to plummet him as repayment, the damaged was done.

A minor example. In the manga, Drum completely outmatches Tien, who doesn't land a single blow before going down and nearly being killed. In the anime, Tien puts up a better fight and manages to score several hits on Drum, making him bleed. He even gets to use the Evil Containment Wave and is only foiled when Drum shields Piccolo.

Adaptational Jerkass: In the manga his only real "crimes" are being too cocky for his own good and having the order of fights rigged. In anime filler he's a con man who tortures an animal, attempts murder at least twice and actually kills a man(albeit in a case of manslaughter rather than murder).

Aloof Ally: Spends the majority of the Buu Saga training in isolation with Chiaotzu.

Always Second Best: Despite being even with Goku during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, he falls behind Goku after he drinks the Ultra Divine Water and never catches up again. He still tries, despite knowing he can't catch up.

Ambiguously Human: He's never presented as anything but human, but he does have a third eye and unique abilities. There are much more human-seeming aliens throughout the series. Some of the tie-in games refer to him as an alien, but Toriyama has at various times stated that Tien is a descendant of a three-eyed clan of humans and/or that the third eye is the result of achieving enlightenment.

Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Tenshinhan was one of these before he became one of the heroic characters. While most Dragon Ball villains are this to a certain extent, Tenshinhan is the most clear example of it as afterwards the villains are all aliens, demons, androids, and genies. He was likely the Trope Codifier of an Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy for anime.

The Artifact: Due to the power escalation in the series, Tenshinhan's role as The Rival for Goku ended up getting taken over by Piccolo and later Vegeta. Tenshinhan himself actually ended up getting briefly written out of the series during the Buu Saga only to later return. At the same time, he still sees Goku as his rival, as in the bar to surpass, but he's fully aware that it will never happen.

Blood Knight: He is the only human, along with Chiaotzu, who keeps training long after the other accepted that they can never catch up to the Saiyans. He also went against Bulma's plan to stop the androids early by using the Dragon Balls because he wanted to fight them. Despite the huge power difference, he still strives to match Goku.

In his fight against Goku during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, Tenshinhan, who was starting to feel overpowered by Goku's tremendous stamina and having several of his techniques outdone by Goku's very own, ingenuously decided that, if he could not knock Goku unconscious or push him out of the platform, he would simply destroy the entire platform; that way, Goku would lose by ring out because there would be no platform left to stand on. Tenshinhan, who possesses the ability to fly, did not have that problem. He managed to destroy the platform with his powerful Tri-Beam attack, but instead of simply waiting for Goku, who had jumped very high to escape the blast, to hit the ground, Tenshinhan decided to fly close to him, accompanying Goku as he fell down, in order to gloat about his inevitable victory. That opened an opportunity for Goku to use one last attack that knocked Tenshinhan unconscious, and now both fighters were falling to the ground. Subverted because Tenshinhan, by a stroke of luck, actually won the fight, but he was likely in worse physical condition than Goku by the end of it.

In the manga he's a bit smarter, he intended to stay where he was and watch Goku fall, but Goku reacted quickly.

Boring, but Practical: His Solar Flare (Taiyōken) technique. It doesn't require a lot of power, it is easy to learn, and can blind almost any opponent.

Broken Pedestal: Tien idolized the assassin Mercenary Tao even after his Heel–Face Turn, which is logical since Tao was his former master. That all came to an end during the Piccolo Jr. Saga when, during their fight, Tao breaks the tournament rules by resorting to a Blade Behind The Shoulder.

He uses a new version of the Tri-Beam Cannon to pin Semi-Perfect Cell and allow Android 18 to escape. He is only saved because Goku teleports him to safety. In the long run, his efforts amounted to nothing since 18 is still absorbed, allowing Cell to become complete.

Cannot Tell a Joke: He did manage a joke. Once. But it took rigorous discipline and concentration.

Can't Catch Up: He lasted a little longer then Yamcha and Krillin and was still useful after he fell behind though.

Cast From HP: Tenshinhan's Tri-Beam drains its user's life and will kill him if he uses it too much. On the plus side, attacks that use life force, such at this one, far exceed the potential of ki attacks. He kept Semi-Perfect Cell in check with it (it didn't actually cause any damage, but Cell couldn't move until he stopped using it).

Characterization Marches On/Character Development: Upon his introduction, Tenshinhan is an arrogant fighter who enjoys taunting and mocking his opponents, and even has a somewhat acid sense of humor, like when, after an accidentally humorous and rather embarrassing exchange between Roshi's students, Tenshinhan mockingly suggests that comedy must be one of the disciplines taught at the Kame school of martial arts. Once he changes sides, Tenshinhan became a lot more serious and composed, rarely smiling and so humorless that he is shown struggling to tell a simple joke. That's likely because his earlier humor was mean spirited and not meant with any sense of irony. As he became nicer and more emphatic that kind of humor probably would be hard for him to pull up again.

Chekhov's Gunman: Gets Put on a Bus during the Buu Saga with the only explanation being that Tenshinhan left to train. He later returns to save Dende from being killed by Buu.

The Comically Serious: After his Heel–Face Turn. He completely dropped his serious tone under the training with Piccolo, Kaio, Yamcha and Chiaotzu. Constantly goofing off, even to the point of incurring the wrath of Piccolo, who respected him back in Dragon Ball.

Con Man: Anime Only. Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu's first appearance in the anime shows them as a pair of travelling con artists.

Like Master Roshi, he knows the Mafuba/Evil Containment Wave, the technique that can seal evil at the expense of ones' life. He learns it after witnessing Master Roshi use it during his failed attempt to reseal King Piccolo. He challenges King Piccolo and tries to seal him with it. Depending if you read the manga or watched the anime, Tien either never gets the chance to use the technique since the rice cooker he was going to used got damaged while he was training, or he succeeds in using it, but Drum interferes, indirectly saving his life.

He knows another dangerous technique, Kikoho (Tri-Beam in the dub). It uses energy directly from his life force and causes an energy blast that is more powerful than him, which allows him to pin Semi-Perfect Cell and deflect an energy blast from Super Buu. The only problem is it will kill him if he uses it too much, like it did when he used it against Nappa. Even when it doesn't kill him, it still exhausts him to the point of not being able to fight and shortens his life.

Deadpan Snarker: In his early appearances, he displayed an acidic sense of humor:

Tenshinhan:(to Yamcha) For someone who doesn't speak pain, you sound very fluent.

Even after a long time, he still hasn't lost it.

Yamcha:(to #18, who had just rebuffed Krillin after being revived) Why you...! You should be thankful! Or do you wanna get beat up? Tenshinhan: I assume it won't be you to do that...

Determinator: He has no problem rushing into battle with opponents he knows he can't beat.

Taken Up to Eleven when he stands his ground against Imperfect Cell to buy Android 18 time to escape and uses his Tri-Beam/Kikoho (which is Cast from Hit Points) to keep Cell pinned down until he literally collapses from having burned all his energy. The man just has no quit in him!

Dub Name Change: Not as obvious as other examples but "Tien Shinhan" is most definitely not the single name Tenshinhan. Also, some European localizations give his name as Tenshin Han, often shortening it to just Tenshin.

Enemy Mine: After King Piccolo attacks, Krillin is dead, Yamcha has a broken leg, and Goku is off trying to beat up Krillin's killer. Ergo, Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu get recruited by Roshi to gather the Dragon Balls before Piccolo gets to them. Tenshinhan notes this as much, saying even though he acknowledges his previous actions as wrong, he still considers himself and Chiaotzu as Shen's students, and simply asking for forgiveness won't be enough.

Enlightenment Superpower: Subverted. According to Toriyama, Tien has achieved enlightenment and should have godlike powers, but the evil influence of the Crane Hermit prevents him from ever using those powers to their full potential.

Flight: One of the first characters in the series to fly, as it is the signature technique of his martial arts school.

Good Scars, Evil Scars: The scar on Tenshinhan's chest is a memento of his tournament battle with Taopaipai, who had hidden a knife in his cybernetics.

Handicapped Badass: He lost his left arm during his fight with Nappa. It didn't stop him from continuing the fight.

Hard Work Hardly Works: Tenshinhan is the only character among the human protagonists who has no interest in living a normal life and spends most of his time training, even during peaceful times. Unfortunately, all of his effort is still not enough to put him in the same league as the Saiyans or Piccolo, making his usefulness against the incredibly powerful enemies the protagonists must go up against very limited.

Heel–Face Turn: Introduced as a rival trained by an evil dojo. Becomes one of Goku's best allies.

Heir to the Dojo: According to Dragon Ball Online, he becomes the heir to the new Crane School despite breaking ties with his former master.

Hero with Bad Publicity: Early on in the King Piccolo Saga, he briefly suffers this; in the episode "Tien's Atonement," he's nearly arrested on suspicion of the murders of several martial artists, though Tambourine is the real culprit. It's not unjustified, since Tien did have a reputation for being exceptionally brutal during fights, most notably breaking Yamcha's leg when he was already down For the Evulz.

Heroic R.R.O.D.: His Tri-Beam/Spirit Cannon attack, which is supposed to kill the user if used too long; nevertheless, Tenshinhan is able to master it so that it can be used repeatedly. In Z, given the exponential power rise of the opposition, it quickly becomes Tenshinhan's first-choice technique, and using it, he's even capable of pinning Semi-Perfect Cell down for a while before getting incapacitated.

Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Chiaotzu. They are almost always together and Tien doesn't feel complete without him. When it looks like Chiaotzu won't be revived since Shenron can't bring someone back to life twice, he's willing to stay in the afterlife with him.

Honor Before Reason: Even while Shen's pupil. When he realizes that Chiaotzu is paralyzing Goku under Shen's orders, he immediately orders him to stop because he wants to beat Goku in a fair fight, and after he does so and Shen is dealt with, he even lets Goku give him quite a beating to even things out.

Kick the Dog: He breaks Yamcha's leg after he was already defeated and unconscious.

Kick Them While They Are Down: At the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, he beats Yamcha by landing a powerful kick to his gut while they were in mid-air. After Yamcha falls back into the ring, Tien decides to land a kneedrop onto Yamcha's leg, breaking it. Goku calls out Tien on this, saying how Yamcha was already unconscious, so breaking his leg was unnecessary. Tien shrugs him off while laughing.

Killed Offscreen: His second death was not shown, but it happened due to Buu blowing up Earth.

Ordered to Cheat: In the the 22nd World Tournament, The Crane Hermit orders Tenshinhan to kill Goku while he's paralyzed by Chiaotzu. He refuses.

Out of Focus: In the Namek/Frieza Saga after dying, and again in the Buu Saga onwards.

Overshadowed by Awesome: Par for the course in this series, as everyone and their grandmother are casually outclassed by even the weakest Saiyans, but Tien is still one of the strongest non-Saiyan Humans. He's won more battles than many other characters, including against Yamcha, Goku and Taopaipai (in Dragonball), a Saibaman (In Dragonball Z) and Jeice and Burter (in Z filler). That's not too bad considering he's not a Saiyan.

Put on a Bus: After the Cell Games, Tenshinhan had no more reason to hang out with the Z gang since Goku chose not to be revived and went into hiding with Chiaotzu. Throughout the Buu arc, he and Chiaotzu had a couple of brief appearances until Tenshinhan saved Mr. Satan and Dende from getting killed by Buu. He returns as a regular for ''Super''.

Papa Wolf: Around Chiaotzu most of his life as well as around Gohan during the Saiyan and Cell Saga.

Redemption Demotion: When he was first introduced as an antagonist, his powers were as great as Goku's. After he became one of the good characters, he was surpassed by Goku and, as the series developed, his powers were thoroughly outclassed by the Saiyans, Piccolo and most enemies.

The Rival: Was this to Goku and gave him one of his toughest matches in the original series. He's also one of the few people to defeat Goku, even if it was a stroke of luck. Although outmatched during the 23rd Martial Arts Tournament, he still gave Goku a decent match and forced him to removed his weighted clothes. In Z, Goku completely surpass him, but he still tries to reach Goku's level, despite knowing it's futile.

Secret Keeper: He is aware that Master Roshi is Jackie Chun, but never discloses this to anyone else out of respect.

Shadow Archetype: Before his Heel–Face Turn, Tien represents what Goku would be like if he allowed his arrogance and natural talent for fighting to go to his head. This different also highlights the difference between the Turtle and the Crane Schools. Master Roshi went out of his way to teach his students humility and that there was always someone better. The Crane Hermit bloated his students' egos, telling them that there was no one stronger than them.

Senseless Sacrifice: In the Saiyan Saga. After Chiaotzu's own Senseless Sacrifice and losing an arm, Tien channels all of his remaining power into a one-handed Tri-Beam to attack Nappa with. It only damages his armor, and Tien kicks it while bemoaning his failure; to add insult to injury, according to Vegeta, the technique probably would have done more damage had Nappa not seen it coming at the last second.

Signature Move: Kikoho / Tri-Beam + variants. He's also known for Taiyouken / Solar Flare— this so much his move that Goku mentally apologizes to him for stealing it.

Smug Super: When he was introduced, he truly believed that no one was stronger than him since he trained under the Crane Hermit. He regularly demeaned Yamcha and all of the Turtle School as weaklings. Despite his smugness, he backed it up by beating Yamcha, despite Tien admitting it was a tougher fight than he thought, and Master Roshi, who acknowledged that Tien may have won even if Roshi hadn't forfeited. He also fought Goku, a powerful Human Alien, to a standstill and won because luck was on his side. After the tournament, however, he drops this attitude after acknowledging that he still had a lot to learn.

Of all the humans, he's the one fighting means the most to. In the original Dragon Ball, he was a Borderline Blood Knight. He stops Chiaotzu from weakening Goku with psychic powers so Tien can have a fair fight with him.

In Bojack Unbound, he insists post-Cell Games Trunks fight him without holding back. He knows he'll lose, but he'd rather lose honestly than lose with Trunks going easy on him.

Surpassed the Teacher: He's surpassed Master Shen when he's introduced in the story. Three years later, he completely outclass Tao, even after he's stronger than ever as a cyborg. After training with Kami, he becomes stronger than him too.

Superior Successor: He is stronger than the Crane Hermit when he is first introduced and he also greatly surpasses Mercenary Tao even after he's rebuilt into a cyborg. He becomes even stronger than Kami after training with him to prepare for the Saiyans. Going by Dragon Ball Online, he becomes the new master of the Crane School and this plot line is carried into Super where he opens his own dojo. At the same time, while he's a superior fighter to his masters, he's inferior as an assassin since he has a conscience.

Super Senses: With three-eyes, it's only natural that he has better than average eyesight.

Tame His Anger: Master Roshi specifically wanted to do this with Tenshinhan. And he's one of the first major characters to do it (Yamcha and Krillin weren't really angry).

Technician vs. Performer: Despite never being able to catch up to the Saiyans or Piccolo, Tien has several powerful and effective techniques that makes him an useful ally. His Solar Flare is one of the best techniques in the series, able to blind even the most powerful opponent and is copied by several characters. His Tri-Beam can pin down monsters like Cell and deflect a planet buster from Super Buu, although at the cost of his lifespan.

Him and Chiaotzu, of course, but he also gets lumped into this with Yamcha - particularly in America, where Dragon Ball Z was aired first. While major characters in the original series, in Z he and Yamcha are just the two human fighters who pop up when a battle is going on.

During the Cell Saga he's also shown with Piccolo a lot, where the two of them chased after Imperfect Cell, while later observing the events from Kami's Lookout while conversing.

True Companions: Averted. Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu only associate with the Z-fighters when there's a crisis and seem to have no interest in them socially. They didn't attend the reunion party at the beginning of the Saiyan saga and after the Cell games Tenshinhan tells the others that they'll probably never meet again. Tenshinhan and Goku don't even meet face-to-face in Z until Goku returns to Earth at the beginning of the Android saga, eight years after their last meeting at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai.

Underestimating Badassery: When he was introduced, he was a typical Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy who regularly trashed the Turtle School as a bunch of weaklings. He was especially confrontational towards Yamcha and specifically had Chiaotzu rig the lottery so he would fight him first. Although he beat Yamcha, he does admit that Yamcha was stronger than he thought. He then goes on to say that the rest of the Turtle School should be easy since Yamcha was obviously the strongest since Krillin and Goku were just kids, not knowing that Yamcha was actually the weakest of the three. He only changed his mind after Goku revealed that he killed Tao. After his fight against Goku, he overall becomes a more humble person who never underestimates his opponents again.

Wake-Up Call Boss: He is the first opponent since Mercenary Tao and Gohan Sr. to really give Goku a good match and push him past his limit.

Warm-Up Boss: Serves as this to Goku during the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. He forces Goku to remove his weighted clothes and fight somewhat seriously, but he never really pushes Goku, something he notes after their match.

Weak, but Skilled: He possesses an incredible repertoire of techniques (including growing a pair of extra arms) and is the one of the most technical fighters in the series. Several characters have copied his techniques for their own use, most notably the Solar Flare. Goku even took it a step further and turned that very attack against Tenshinhan in their rematch.

What Happened to the Mouse?: After Dende healed Tenshinhan from Buu's attack, he wasn't seen again until after the Earth was restored and everyone was revived.

The Worf Effect: Just like the other Earthling characters. He gets destroyed by Drum who Goku takes out with one kick and couldn't match Goku in their rematch at the 22nd Tournament. In Z he loses his arm to Nappa after he punched it off and choked out by Android 17. He also goes down in one kick by Super Buu.

Worthy Opponent: Part of his Heel–Face Turn happened because he acknowledged Goku as his rival and equal. Even after Goku completely surpassed him, he still trains to fight him.

You Shall Not Pass: Tenshinhan kept Cell (in his Semi-Perfect form) pinned down using his Neo Tri-Beam, so that #18 could get away and hide until the Saiyans completed their training. Note this is pretty late in the Z series, and he was useless in hand to hand combat compared to the now-Super Saiyans. Also, it was only not a Heroic Sacrifice because of Goku's instant transmission and a Senzu Bean.

Introduced in the second Tournament arc, Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu are initially rivals to Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha (as they belong to an opposing dojo to Roshi's). The two eventually become friends to our heroes after realizing the lack of honor in their own methods. They become instrumental in the the next few arcs following their introduction, but after the Saiyan Saga Chiaotzu becomes less important (and after the Cell Saga, so does Tenshinhan). By the Cell Saga they become side characters who are mentioned and seen frequently, but rarely do anything significant.

Blood Knight: Like Tien, he keeps training long after most of the cast left him in the dust. Whether he does so just to spend time with Tien or because he really do love to fight is debatable.

Book Dumb: He has trouble with basic math and can't tell left from right without pausing to think which hand he holds chopsticks in. Apparently, unlike Roshi, Shen doesn't bother providing his students with basic schooling.

Con Man: Anime Only. Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu's first appearance in the anime shows them as a pair of travelling con artists. Also fits the subtrope of The Fixer for his tendency to rig the number draws at the World Martial Arts Tournaments.

Enemy Mine: After King Piccolo attacks, Krillin is dead, Yamcha has a broken leg and Goku is off trying to beat up Krillin's killer. Ergo, Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu get recruited by Roshi to gather the Dragon Balls before Piccolo gets to them.

Tenshinhan notes this as much, saying even though he acknowledges his previous actions as wrong, he still considers himself and Chiaotzu as the Crane Hermit's students, and a simple ask for forgiveness won't be enough.

Failure Hero: In Z. The poor guy didn't get to show off his skills that much in Dragon Ball either.

Fragile Speedster: Quite quick on his feet, in large due to his flight, but goes down quite easily if hit.

Friendly Target: Chiaotzu dies three times in the manga, same as Krillin in that medium. And he's nowhere as important plot-wise (poor guy...).

Glass Cannon: He has an assortment of unusual, useful techniques and skills including telekinesis, telepathy, and flight, however he doesn't have much in the way of physical ability and is left pretty defenseless if an enemy can overcome his abilities.

Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Tien. They are almost always together and he sacrifice his life to try to save Tien from Nappa. The primary reason he turns against the Crane Hermit is because he ordered him to paralyze Tien so he can kill him. Chiaotzu refuses, saying he would obey any order from his master, but he can never harm Tien.

Mysterious Past: What exactly is he? Is he a type of human or a alien hybrid like Tien? How did he come to meet Tien and the Crane Hermit? It doesn't help that Chiaotzu gets the least amount of screen time of the original cast.

No Body Left Behind: His second and third deaths. The former was due to performing a Kamikazee attack against Nappa, the latter was due to Buu blowing up Earth.

Older Than They Look: Aside from getting slightly taller in the Piccolo Jr Arc, he looks exactly the same throughout the entire series.

Ordered to Cheat: During the 22nd World Tournament, Tenshinhan finds that their master, the Crane Hermit, has been having Chaozu use his telekinesis to paralyze Goku during their fight.

Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training: He needs to use his fingers to solve basic math problems, like 3 + 4. He also can't tell left from right without pausing to think about which hand he holds his chopsticks in. In exchange, he has telekinesis, telepathy, flight, etc.

Satellite Character: After his debut, he's mainly just there to be Tien's best friend. He has little to no effect on the plot aside from being a Sacrificial Liontwice, and barely ever interacts with any of the other Z-fighters.

Senseless Sacrifice: During the Saiyan Saga, he self-destructs in an effort to take Nappa with him, knowing that the Dragon Balls can't bring him back to life again. Nappa survives without a scratch, and the other Z-Fighters are left horrified and grief-stricken that Chiaotzu died for nothing.

Signature Move: Dodon Ray, shared with all 3 other Crane related characters. He was also the first character to really showcase the flying techniquenote Technically, flying is the signature move of the Crane style, but Chaozu got the honor of demonstrating how hard it will wreck your opponent if they can't do it, too, which (like Tenshinhan's Taiyouken / Solar Flare) quickly became a staple of the others' strategies.

The Sociopath: He comes off as this since he shows almost no emotion in his first appearance, except for annoyance with some bits of sadistic happiness when he's fighting Krillin. This changed the minute the Crane Hermit ordered him to paralyze Tien so he can kill him. Chiaotzu refuses, saying that he will do anything his master says, but he can never hurt Tien.

Spell My Name with an "S": Chaozu? Chiaotzu? Chaotzu? Gyouza? Chaos? Kaos (used by the original translation of the Spanish manga. No idea where they came up with that)?

Surpassed the Teacher: He surpasses Master Shen by the time of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. He also surpasses Kami after training with him.

Superior Successor: He becomes stronger than the Crane Hermit after training for the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. After training with Kami to fight the Saiyans, he becomes stronger than him too.

Use Your Head: Against Krillin. Master Shen even comments that Chiaotzu's head is as hard as a diamond.

Weak, but Skilled: Uses psychic powers due to having a lower endurance than his comrades.

Weaksauce Weakness: Chiaotzu needs to use his hands for his psychic attacks. Krillin gets around this by asking him difficult math questions— Chiaotzu needs to count on his fingers to solve 9 - 1. Chiaotzu attempts to counter with double-digit problems, but Krillin was taught math by Master Roshi, in addition to fighting!

After Future Trunks visited the main timeline and averted the apocalyptic future, the Trunks of the main timeline was born. Unlike his Future counterpart, he's a brash, excitable thrill-seeker, no doubt thanks to his father being alive and present throughout his childhood. In addition, thanks to Vegeta and Goku's bonding during the Cell games, he's become close friends with Gohan and Goten, constantly getting into mischief with the latter. Despite this, he mellows out overtime by the Super sagas, and considerably in GT—he has to when he's the CEO of Capsule Corporation in that show.

While not referred to as such in the main series, supplementary materials and merchandise typically refer to him as "Kid Trunks," "Present Trunks," or "GT Trunks" to distinguish him from his Future counterpart.

Big Eater: He can eat a mountain's worth of food like any Saiyan. Although, he doesn't eat as much as his father or Goku.

Blood Knight: Like all Saiyans, he loves to fight, especially his best friend Goten. He loses this aspect, however, as a teen, preferring to go on dates and mess with machinery.

Born Lucky: He grew up in a peaceful era where the Bad Future never happened. It's his conversation with his future self that he was lucky his life turned out this way, rather than having to constantly survive as being the last Saiyan bloodline left.

Bratty Half-Pint: What distinguishes him from Future Trunks, thanks to growing up in a time of peace (and having his father around).

Brilliant, but Lazy: His fighting potential far surpasses that of Future Trunks, and he can become much stronger than his father. But he doesn't take the time to train outside of play fighting Goten or spending time with his dad. Vegeta all but calls him lazy in the last episodes of Z.

Child Prodigy: Able to become a Super Saiyan at the age of eight, much sooner and more easily than Future Trunks, and more powerful than Frieza.

Cool Sword: In the Wrath of the Dragon movie, Tapion gives him his sword as a parting gift. Some sources say it is the same as Future Trunks' sword.

Crossdressing Voices: Noticeably averted in the Japanese version, since Takeshi Kusao voiced kid Trunks as well as Future Trunks.

Demoted to Extra: Later on in GT, although he lasted longer than most of the cast.

To Goten. They're both sons to some of the most powerful beings in the universe, but while Trunks is born into privilege, Goten is born into a common family that is somewhat poor. Goten is also very silly, while Trunks tries to play the serious one.

After the split in the timelines, Kid Trunks becomes this to Future Trunks. Kid Trunks is irresponsible, spoiled, playful during battle, and somewhat arrogant. Future Trunks is very responsible, humble, a Combat Pragmatist, and will kill to ensure peace. Kid Trunks is affected by living during a time of peace with both of his parents, while Future Trunks lived After the End where the androids killed all his loved ones, including his father, and Gohan, his mentor.

Freak-Out: He has one of these when he thinks Future Trunks is his illegitimate brother, thanks to Pilaf and Mai putting ideas in his head.

Future Me Scares Me: When Future Trunks returns in Dragon Ball Super, the mystery surrounding him and his relation to Bulma and Vegeta is very unsettling to Present Trunks, especially when the former freaks out and attacks Goku immediately after recovering. After he calms down though, Present Trunks is more surprised by them being the same person.

Heroic Bastard: While they do eventually marry between the Cell and Buu sagas, he was born after a one night stand between Vegeta and Bulma.

Heroic Lineage: How 'heroic' Vegeta is very questionable, but Bulma certainly qualifies and according to Piccolo, Trunks comes from a heroic family.

Hero-Worshipper: He highly admires his dad and believes that he's the strongest in the universe above Goku and Gohan, especially since Vegeta is a prince. He also refused to believe that a giant blob like Majin Buu could kill his father.

Lineage Comes from the Father: Unlike Future Trunks his personality and demeanor are more like Vegeta. At the same time, he is good with his hands like Bulma and his grandfather.

Locked Out of the Loop: In the "Resurrection 'F' Saga" of Dragon Ball Super, Trunks has no idea why everyone reacted with surprise when he talked about slicing Frieza in half, implying that he's unaware of his future counterpart who did exactly that. This is confirmed in the "Future Trunks Saga", when he clearly doesn't recognize his future self and is shocked to learn that they have the same name.

Older Than He Looks: In the Battle of Gods movie and Super he's 14 but yet looks the same as he was in the Buu saga when he was 8 (though this seems par for the course with Saiyan children). What's weird is that, when Future Trunks was training with Future Gohan at about his age, he looked much taller than Trunks is currently.

Spoiled Sweet: Unlike Future Trunks, he grew up privileged. Still a decent guy, he just picked up a noticeable amount of Vegeta's arrogance. Though by the time he reaches around age his future counterpart was when introduced, his personality mellows out to being similar, though still slightly more haughty.

Superior Successor: To both his father and Future Trunks. He becomes a Super Saiyan at only eight years old and is stronger than Frieza.

Team Mom: Is a male version of this in GT. He's just not enough of a disciplinarian to be a Team Dad.

Unskilled, but Strong: Because he only fights for fun, he doesn't really train. In Yo! Son Goku and his Friends Return!! Vegeta and the others are visibly disappointed in how much trouble he and Goten have fighting Avo and Cado, because they've forgotten how to use basic skills like sensing ki to counter a Flash Step. Gohan has to step in and coach them, and he's similarly disinclined to train. He's always going to be stronger than any human by virtue of being a Super Saiyan, but he doesn't really work for it.

The second son of Goku and Chi-Chi, born some time after the Cell Games. Has a very childlike naivety not unlike Goku when he was little; though also has Gohan's childhood crybaby tendencies. Between Trunks and himself, he's surprisingly the voice of reason, though he usually goes along with the former's ideas. By GT, he settles down to live more or less as a normal teenager, worrying more about girls than fighting.

Achievements in Ignorance: Both he and Trunks achieved Super Saiyan form as children with very little effort, and no clue they'd done something remarkable.

Chick Magnet: Much like his father and big brother. In GT, college-age Goten seems to be going out with girls all the time.

Child Prodigy: Although not to the extent of Gohan, he is the youngest Super Saiyan ever and is only a little weaker than Trunks mostly due to age.note Since Goten only ever trained with his mom, who would be far weaker, and he didn't have to go through trauma to become a Super Saiyan.

Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Like his older brother and father, he's easy-going, innocent, and inherited his father's naivety. However, like everyone else in his family, he's a cute bruiser who holds the title for the youngest Super Saiyan.

The Cutie: Look at him. He is just like his father when he was a child, who was also extremely cute looking.

To Trunks as well. They're both sons to some of the most powerful beings in the universe, but while Trunks is born into privilege, Goten is born into a common working family that is somewhat poor. Goten is also very silly, while Trunks tries to play the serious one.

Older Than They Look: In Battle of Gods and Super, he's in his teens, yet he still looks like he's seven. Justified if GT's explanation that Saiyans age slowly is canon.

Out of Focus: In Super, Goten is the only Saiyan to have little actual role in the story and largely serves as a background character. Unlike Trunks, who at least had a few scenes such as meeting his Future self, Goten rarely appears in any meaningful way.

Shipper on Deck: For Gohan/Videl. He asks her to be his big sister in Z. In Super, once she is his sister-in-law, he's so impressed by how kind she is to Gohan that he and Trunks spend half an episode trying to find her a gift.

Static Character: He receives very little individual characterization to set him apart. He looks and acts like Goku did at the same age, and hasn't gotten nearly as much attention as his brother or Trunks have, looking pretty much the same in Super (set some years after the end of the Buu Saga).

Strong Family Resemblance: When first introduced, he looked almost exactly like Goku did back at the start of Dragon Ball, without the tail and wearing longer sleeves. As a teenager he mentions he grew his hair out specifically because he was sick of looking identical to his dad. Funnily, this only serves to make him look like a male version of his paternal grandmother, Gine.

Superior Successor: To his father, Goku, and even Gohan to an extent. He becomes a Super Saiyan at only seven and did it much easier than Gohan. He is also stronger than Frieza.

Unskilled, but Strong: He was a Super Saiyan and yet couldn't even fly. In Yo! Son Goku and his Friends Return!! Vegeta and the others are visibly disappointed in how much trouble he and Trunks have fighting Avo and Cado, because they've forgotten how to use basic skills like sensing ki to counter a Flash Step. Gohan has to step in and coach them, and he's similarly disinclined to train. He's always going to be stronger than any human by virtue of being a Super Saiyan, but he doesn't really work for it.

Warrior Prince: Technically, Gohan and Goten are this, as their grandfather is the Ox King, making Chichi, their mother, a princess. (Though, like Trunks, they were never really referred to as a prince.)

When Goku returned from the afterlife with the knowledge of the Fusion Dance but no eligible partner to perform it with, Goten and Trunks were taught it, and their mothers came up with the combined name Gotenks. The result combines Goten's childishness with Trunks' brattiness to create one of the weirdest and goofiest fighters in the series, the kind who would come up with the Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack.

Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: He's strong enough to fight Super Buu... and also an arrogant windbag who cares more about showing off and making himself look cool than saving the world.

Almost all of the attacks he comes up with are flashy but ineffective. The Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack initially seems to be very powerful and effective, but when Buu later attempts to use it against Vegetto, he quickly demonstrates the attack's fatal flaw (the ghosts can be detonated from a safe distance with ki blasts) and subsequently mocks Buu for thinking an attack dreamed up by two kids could beat him.

Super Saiyan 3. It uses so much power that Gotenks can only use it for five minutes.

Gotenks' very existence. He is one of the most powerful characters in the series, however, because of his childish and arrogant nature he is not very dependable. He could have ended Buu in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but was too busy trying to look good. By the time he got serious, almost everyone was dead and he wasted too much time at Super Saiyan 3. He can also only exist for thirty minutes.

Badass in Distress: He along with Piccolo are absorbed by Buu to increase his power. He has to be saved by Goku and Vegeta.

Bratty Half-Pint: Even still good, he has a pretty bratty attitude, especially considering his proud behavior.

When Goten and Trunks finally manage to successfully fuse, Gotenks recklessly rushes into battle with Buu and gets utterly crushed. He doesn't learn from this experience, of course.

Happens again when his constant goofing around during the fight with Super Buu leads to Buu escaping the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and eating all of his loved ones and friends. It's this that finally gets him to take the fight seriously.

Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: He was seconds away from killing Super Buu when the fusion broke because he couldn't maintain Super Saiyan 3 anymore. And despite the pounding he gave Buu, he healed all the damage without losing any power. The only thing Gotenks manages to do is buy time for Gohan to arrive and even that amounts to nothing in the end since he is absorbed by Buu, making him more powerful than Gohan.

Composite Character: Literally. He combines features of Goten and Trunks... though he ends up looking kinda like a chibi Vegeta, because Trunks very obviously has mostly Vegeta's facial features, so once you add black hair...

Fearless Fool: Like Vegeta, Gotenks is very arrogant and charges into battle with enemies he can't defeat. This is played straight in his first appearance, when he tries to rush into battle with Majin Buu, and gets his ass handed to him.

Genre Savvy: Played With and Played for Laughs. Gotenks is fully aware that he is in a Shonen. However, instead of using the medium to his advantage, he instead choses to play every Shonen cliche straight for the sake of drama: long powers-ups, holding back his true power, trash talking, Heroic Second Wind, and New Powers as the Plot Demands. This would be annoying with any other opponent, but he is fighting Super Buu who does not play by the 'rules'.

Hour of Power: He can only stay fuse for thirty minutes. He can also only maintain his Super Saiyan 3 transformation for five minutes before he reverts to his base form.

Has Two Mommies: Though he's never around long enough to make much of it, Bulma and Chichi and Goku and Vegeta are his biological moms and dads, respectively. Played with when his moms compare which of their kids traits he takes after.

Idiot Hero: Even more so than Goku. Combining the arrogance of Trunks and the naivety of Son Goten results in a naive and arrogant showoff-blowhard who is too busy "looking good" to save the world.

Kid Hero: One of the strongest characters in the show and is the fusion of two kids who are not even ten.

Large Ham: He absolutely loves being overdramatic in calling his attacks.

Last Second Showoff: When he is first born, he challenges Piccolo to a race to the Earth's surface from the Lookout. When Piccolo finally catches up, Gotenks informed him he had circled the Earth several times and even had time for a nap.

Lethally Stupid: Because of the rash and idiotic decisions he makes in an effort to look cool, he gets himself and Piccolo trapped in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, enables Buu to escape and eat all of his loved ones, and gets himself absorbed by Buu, allowing Buu to beat Gohan senseless.

Let's Get Dangerous!: Once he stops messing around, he pummels the living daylights out of Buu; he only failed to kill Buu because the fusion wore off at the last second.

The Minion Master: With the Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack, which summons not-too-bright ghost copies of himself that explode on impact.

If he just took Buu seriously from the start, he could have killed him in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Instead, he had to show-off, which led to a chain-of-events that got everyone on the Lookout killed and gave Buu time to think of a plan to counter Gohan.

His arrogance allowed him to be provoke by Buu to merge, instead of letting Gohan to finish the job, which gets him absorbed.

Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He's one of the strongest beings in the universe and one of the shortest since he is the fusion of two pre-teens.

Smug Super: As much of a snot-nosed brat as he is, he was the heroes' best chance at beating Buu at the time and he nearly did. Once he got serious and stopped fooling around, he was close to killing Buu, but his fusion broke. The cockiness is usually a Fatal Flaw for him, though, frequently getting him spanked around and embarrassed by stronger enemies.

Took a Level in Badass: When he reaches SSJ3 and began to take his battle with Buu more seriously. He went from being barely a match against Buu, to overpowering him.

Son Goten was not an egotist; all that arrogant and overconfident traits therefore all comes from Trunks.

It also applies to Trunks as well, who knew to get serious when shit is going down.

Underestimating Badassery: He manages to underestimate Super Buu, despite the weaker Fat Buu making short work of him. He refuses to use Super Saiyan 3, wanting the fight to as dramatic as possible, so he fights Buu as a normal Super Saiyan until he's force to transformed.

Unskilled, but Strong: He's one of the strongest characters in the entire series, only behind Vegetto, Gohan, and Goku in the Buu Saga, but he's also by far the most naive. He thinks it's better to showoff than actually saving people and most of his techniques falls into Awesome, but Impractical. His lack of experience and self-control causes him to lose to an opponent that he overpowered (his fusion broke before he could kill Buu). Despite his power, he's still the merger of two children.

Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His screwing around and faking being weak for the sake of showing off ends up causing Piccolo to destroy the doorway to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, which leads to Buu escaping and killing everyone left on Kami's Lookout.

Voice of the Legion: Non-creepy example, he talks with both Goten and Trunk's voices simultaneously. This also applies to Gogeta and Vegetto.

Gogeta (ゴジータ; Gojīta)

The combined form of Goku and Vegeta using the Fusion Dance. He debuted in movie 12, Fusion Reborn, as a last ditch effort to defeat Janemba, and it worked. He shows up again in GT as a rather goofy Super Saiyan 4 to fight against Omega Shenron.

Adaptational Badass: Downplayed; the games give SSJ1 Gogeta the Big Bang Kamehameha, which was only used in his SSJ4 form.

Story-Breaker Power: There's a very good reason this guy's limited by time constraints; the fusion of Goku and Vegeta makes him hands down the strongest fighter in the Z era (before Dragon Ball Super came along), capable of taking down a demon made of pure evil in seconds in his first appearance. Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta takes this even further, as his power exceeds that of Omega Shenron to the point of curb stomp. His goofiness is the only thing preventing him from ending the fight in five seconds, and even that was implied to be on purpose.

The Ace: The fusion of two super-powerful Saiyan warriors could only result in this. He effortlessly kicks Super Buu around before letting himself get turned into candy to free his comrades. The only point in their battle where he has to put any effort in at all is when Buu is literally tearing the entire universe apart with his screams, and even then it was only some minor strain. He was also the only being short of Future Trunks absorbing the energy of every living being on the planet (including Goku and Vegeta) to actually have the ability to best Merged Zamasu, a fellow Potara Fusion.

Adaptational Badass: In the manga, he immediately goes to Super Saiyan to curbstomp Buu. In the anime, he was effortlessly overpowering him in his normal state and only turned Super Saiyan for the heck of it. Dragonball Kai takes the midway, showing that Vegito can overpower Buu in base, but that he has to put enough effort into it to make him go Super Saiyan, allowing him to completely demolish Buu.

Awesome, but Impractical: Similar to Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta, Vegetto at Super Saiyan Blue drains his fusion time a lot faster than normal, reducing it from one hour to minutes before he split apart again.

Vegetto: "I'm no ordinary candy — I'm a jawbreaker! The strongest piece of candy there is!" (The "jawbreaker" is only part of his boast; he is actually turned into a coffee candy, noted both in the English dub and Japanese original.)

Baleful Polymorph: He was turned into candy by Buu. Not that it stopped him from kicking Buu's butt anyway.

Barrier Warrior: He made a ki barrier around to protect himself from being properly absorbed by Buu.

Captain Ersatz: Of Gogeta. As Akira Toriyama mentions in an interview, he wanted Goku and Vegeta to fuse, but didn't want to step on the toes of Fusion Reborn, which was already in-development at the time. He took the earrings that Kaiōshin had been wearing all along, changed the way the fusion worked (melded-outfit vs. fancy vest; composite vs. original attacks), and Vegetto was born. Toriyama did later sketch Gogeta for the movie DVD box set in Japan, though.

About halfway between Goku and Vegeta in height, frame, and hairdo, with Goku's skintone. By some strange coincidence, the result looks similar to how Gohan did during the same saga. He also has composite attacks. For example, the "Final Kamehameha". Personality-wise, he strongly favors Goku with his sense of humor, battle instincts, and his desire to rescue Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo before destroying Buu. He also, at least in Japanese, has a bit of Goku's 'country hick accent' in the way he talks. However, he has Vegeta's cunning mind and cocky attitude which leads him to having a tendency for arrogantly taunting his foes. Oddly though, unlike either Vegeta or Goku, he has a slightly reddish-brown tint to his hair akin to that of Vegeta's father, though not to the same extent.

Additionally, unlike the Fusion Dance, Vegetto not only inherits physical and personality traits of both Goku and Vegeta, but also gains a set of clothing that is a combination of the two: Goku's gi with the colors inverted to make the outfit primarily blue like Vegeta's standard ensemble, plus Vegeta's gloves and boots.

Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Turns the strongest form of Majin Buu into his play thing for several episodes. He also gained the upper hand during the last leg of his fight with Merged Zamasu before his time limit ran out.

Vegito: "Hey that was a bright idea using the kamehameha wave, Buu. Yeah, and then that Gallick Gun? whoah.. yeah, I could have been killed!" (Beat) "Hmm.. Maybe I am exaggerating a little bit, but I could at least have gotten a bruise, or a little cut, or..."

Genius Bruiser: Downplayed. While Vegito is by no means a rocket surgeon, he is an unparalleled fighter not just because of his power, but because his two halves are a Genius Ditz whose area of specialty is fighting, and a Warrior Prince who's shown time and again to be extremely cunning when he needs to be. Combined, this gives him essentially two lifetimes of different fighting experience, and he can use this experience and knowledge to adapt to his opponent on the fly. In his fight against Super Buu, he chastises Buu for thinking he can outwit him with an attack thought up by two children, and when Buu has the bright idea to reduce the visibility of the area he is in, Vegito beats him with his eyes closed because has plenty of experience with sensing Ki-energy. In his fight against Merged Zamasu, it is also noteworthy that after it becomes apparent Merged Zamasu is matching him in brute strength through a Punch Parry, Vegito immediately switches from relying on strength to avoiding-and-countering and from that point on Merged Zamasu doesn't manage to even land a punch, although the fact the latter was constantly getting additional body ass probably wasn't helping.

Godzilla Threshold: Due to being told that Potara Fusion was permanent (it is, but only for Kais. Non-Kais separate after an hour, less if they use up too much energy) and Goku and Vegeta not liking the idea of fusing together to begin with for various reasons (chief of which being wanting to rely on their own hard earned strength), this has to be crossed before they even consider forming him. Such was the case with Super Buu and later Merged Zamasu, another Potara Fusion.

In many ways, he's Super Buu's foil, being the result of a voluntary fusion to contrast Buu's forcefully absorbing victims. He's also just as arrogant as Buu, which drives the demon up the wall.

In a more literal sense, to Merged Zamasu. Both are fusions, but while Zamasu is a Smug Snake, who loves to boast how great he is, and his fusion took away his immortality with half his body being reduced to a body horror, Vegito is a cocky, Smug Super who combines the greatest attributes of both Goku and Vegeta with no setbacks. Ok, except for his time limit, which was reduced to how much energy it cost to stay fused.

Guile Hero: Him manipulating Super Buu and frustrating him into acting desperately was the main plan to saving his sons, friend and the whole universe.

Horrifying the Horror: Being the fusion of Vegeta and Goku, Vegetto has this built into his very being. By the time Buu decides to absorb him, he puts the fear of god into Super Buu.

Hour of Power: In Super, it's revealed Potara fusions only last for one hour when both of the fusees are non-Kais, less depending on how much power the fusion uses. It's telling that this is the only thing that prevented him from obliterating Merged Zamasu's physical body.

During the fight with Buu, he stalls finishing Buu off and instead goes to great lengths to anger Buu. He beats Buu senseless, all the while he's mocking and insulting him. All a part of his plan.

In his fight with Merged Zamasu, Vegito constantly rubs Zamasu's failing god-hood in his face.

Lost in Translation: His name is meant to be a combination between Vegeta and Kakarotto. In non-Japanese versions, where Goku's Saiyan name was transliterated as Kakarot (besides the Spanish ones, which retain the Japanese name), the origin of Vegito's name becomes a Dub-Induced Plot Hole.

No-Sell: Barring Buu's absorbing technique, EVERYTHING. And if he didn't plan on getting absorbed to free the others he probably would have dealt with that too. Merged Zamasu, on the other hand, is in a different ballpark altogether, to the point Vegetto actually has to put effort into winning and dodging attacks to avoid damage.

Physical God: He was already this, being the strongest character in the manga, surpassing the power of literal gods, and easily toying with the strongest form of Majin Buu as a normal Super Saiyan. However, he literally becomes a god in Super since Goku and Vegeta now have god forms.

Revision: In Z, Elder Kai explains that Potara fusion is permanent. Goku and Vegeta only managed to unfuse due to some unexplained side-effect of being inside Buu's body, though Goku was only speculating on that point. In Super, Gowasu reveals that Potara fusion is only permanent for Kais, while mortals remain fused for an hour under normal conditions (Super Saiyan Blue Vegito gets about five minutes out of it because of how much power he used).

"Shaggy Dog" Story: The whole reason he wanted to get absorbed was so that he could destroy Buu without his absorbed victims dying. But this just led to Buu taking on his most deadly form, who then proceeded to kill all of them anyway along with the planet. As a bonus, his messing around took up the hour he could remain fused, resulting in him splitting back into Goku and Vegeta, who are much weaker. Of course, it doesn't make the hero look good if he's directly responsible for the death of his friends/children, even when Death Is Cheap.

Showy Invincible Hero: It quickly becomes very clear that Buu has no chance of killing him, even though Vegetto isn't fighting at full strength, and yet the fight is still oh so entertaining to watch. And he's well aware of it.

Vegito: "No, really! That was an awesome attack! I could have been killed. *beat* Well, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit. I could have at least gotten a bruise or maybe a small scratch..."

Averted once he forms to face-off with Merged Zamasu, as he knows he has a time limit and he's fighting a fellow Potara Fusion with immortality, which ups the difficulty factor. Unlike Super Buu, Merged Zamasu actually puts up a decent fight before his failing immortality starts to wear him down.

Shut Up, Hannibal!: He pulls this off epically against Merged Zamasu during Super, punching him out while he's in the midst of yet another Evil Gloating session and telling him point-blank that he's sick of listening to his speeches:

Smug Super: He was the most powerful being in existence, prior to Beerus showing up, and he's very well aware of it. Unlike Gotenks though, it never gets in the way of accomplishing his goals.

Spell My Name with an "S": "Vegetto" (Bandai's spelling) or "Vegito" (Funimation's spelling)? Neither one makes sense in most English adaptations, since his name is a portmanteau of Vegeta's name with Goku's Saiyan name, which is commonly romanized as "Kakarot" instead of the literal "Kakarotto". Viz attempted to reconcile this by changing his name to Vegerot in the English manga, but then they changed it back to Vegetto in the Viz Big reprint (although, one has to wonder why they didn't went with the more obvious "Vegetot").

Story-Breaker Power: He is the strongest character in Dragon Ball Z (not including GT and Super). Old Kai states that Potara Fusion is stronger than Fusion Dance (Gogeta, although it is unknown if he was referring to the fused fighter or the fact Potara fusion has no drawbacks). It says a lot that he only returns when the heroes are faced with Merged Zamasu, one of the few beings in existence who can actually give Vegito a challenge. Even then, he's only around for about 10 minutes, and during the latter half of the fight he's pretty much using Merged Zamasu as a sandbag.

Took a Level in Badass: He was already badass to begin with, able to beat Super Buu as a chew toy before separating in his body. In Super, with Goku and Vegeta's current power, which surpasses what Vegito was capable of during the Buu Saga, he is many times stronger than before and has the ability to become Super Saiyan Blue.

Troll: His fight with Super Buu was basically a long session of him antagonising and pissing off Buu into absorbing him.

Too Powerful to Live: If this guy had stayed around, the Buu Saga would have basically ended in five minutes. And you would've written off the main character and his main foil at the same time. The same principle applies in Super, where he basically had Merged Zamasu on the ropes and if he had lasted the hour, would have killed him, though the jury's out if he would have been able to handle the Eldritch Abomination Merged Zamasu's spirit turned into after his physical body was destroyed. Super reveals why: A Fusion Dance lasts 30 minutes unless the fused are knocked out or use too much power which drains their time. Potara lasts a full hour to non-Kais with the same restriction of power conservation; it is only permanent to the Supreme Kais.

Voice of the Legion: Except in the Ocean dub, where he is voiced by Brian Drummond (Using a higher-pitched version of his Vegeta voice).

Xanatos Gambit: The entire battle between Vegetto and Super Buu was this. It didn't matter what Super Buu threw at Vegetto as he had a backup plan or counter strategy for anything. Any outcome in that fight would have suited Vegetto, if Super Buu turns Vegetto into candy, Vegetto still retains his power, as he is much stronger than Super Buu, and it just makes Vegetto a harder target to destroy, if Super Buu absorbs Vegetto then it becomes easier for Vegetto to remove his sons and friends from Super Buu's body and depower him and if Super Buu tries to kill Vegetto... Vegetto would instantly slaughter him. Of course, while that option would be just as effective, it would have been personally immoral for Vegetto as he would be unconsciously murdering his own sons and friends. And while they could be brought back to life with the Dragon Balls, Vegetto would still have somewhat of a heavy conscience for what he did.

You Fight Like a Cow: Most well known for this. He combines Goku's sense of humour with Vegeta's arrogance and sense of humour, to both beat and mock the living daylights out of Super Buu. Of course, this is all part of his plan: getting Buu pissed off and desperate enough to absorb him, so he can free everyone absorbed by Buu. He does this a few times with Merged Zamasu, but not as much.

The daughter of Gohan and Videl, introduced at the tail end of the original series though given more of a fleshed out character in the anime-only GT series. Very much a tomboy and thrill-seeker, willing to prove she's just as tough as her grandfather when given the chance. But not without a soft side either.

Affirmative Action Girl: While Dragon Ball always had a few female characters scattered throughout the supporting cast, the anime-only Dragon Ball GT was the only time a girl regularly joined in on the world-saving: Pan.

Despite being only nine, she is already very powerful, and the Dragon Ball GT Perfect Files state she has the potential to transform, and imply she might become a type of Super Saiyan never seen before.

This is taken further in Super when she's shown as an infant to have learned how to fly all on her own, far younger than any other character seen so far. Remember that even her uncle Goten who could turn Super Saiyan at 7 couldn't fly until he was instructed on how.

Cute Bruiser: Just because she is a cute little girl doesn't mean she won't kick your ass.

The Cutie: As a four year old (and a baby), she was seen as cute and bubbly and full of energy. This rarely appears in GT though.

Family Theme Naming: Pan is a triple-themed name: the food puns for Gohan's side of the family, the devil/Satan theme from Videl's familynote Especially as Pan's horns and goat legs were the inspiration of classical depictions of the devil, and the musical theme from Piccolo who has been extremely close to Gohan and often babysits Pan. There's also, arguably, a fourth that references the Briefs family (as Bulma has been like a Cool Big Sis to Goku since childhood) since her name is also the first three letters in panty.

Goo Goo Godlike: Baby Pan has not only learned fly on her own, but her just powering up destroys Pilaf's battle machine. She's also strong enough to carry Pilaf's gang back to Earth after they shot themselves into the stratosphere.

Heroic Lineage: She comes from two heroic lineages. Her grandfather, Goku, is a warrior who saved the Earth countless times and her father saved the world from Cell and was critical to everyone's survival during the Saiyan Invasion and Namek. Her other grandfather, Mr. Satan, is a Badass Normal who in a world of Super Weights is relegated to Fake Ultimate Hero; he is seen as the world's savior but really did help save the world from Cell, though he played a small but key role in the last stand against Buu (yes, really!). Her mother is a Badass Normal who used to help the police fight crime on a regular basis without any Ki or superpowers.

Kamehame Hadoken: Unsurprisingly good at it, considering her father, grandfather and uncle are.

Kid-Appeal Character: Pan is a Type 3. Even if she'd get destroyed in the main fight, she still tends to try, and if she's not doing that, there's a good chance she's doing something else on her own, which tends to help out (pursuing Giru, finding and saving the kid who was possessed by Baby, and calming Goku down while he was a Golden Great Ape are all good examples).

Last Episode, New Character: In the manga and Z, where she was introduced at the very end of the series. Averted in GT, where she is one of the main characters. Inverted in Super, where Videl announced her pregnancy in the first arc.

Little Miss Badass: Four years old in Z, around nine years old in GT, but badass and adorable all the way.

Superior Successor: She is much stronger than her father or Goten at the same age. Even in GT where she never went Super Saiyan, she takes out Android 19 with ease and helps kill one of the Shadow Dragons. On top of that, if Hercule is successful in making her his successor as World Champion, she'll succeed him by leagues.

The obvious facet is that "pan" is a Portuguese and Spanish loan word for "bread," punning off her dad's name, which means rice (and if you want, you can stretch the pun: Chi-Chi can mean "milk" or "breast milk.").

Pan is also a satyr in Greek mythology whose imagery was borrowed for the Christian devil. Her mother's name is an anagram of "devil," and her maternal grandfather is Mr. Satan! If you want to stretch that even further, it's a retroactive, indirect reference to Hercule's late wife Miguel. Miguel is a Spanish version of the name Michael, the name of an Archangel (and Lucifer was an Archangel before he was Satan).

Pan could also be a reference to the Pan Pipes in honor of Piccolo, who, being the reincarnation of a Daimao, would fit the devil theme above as well.note Especially after receiving a Satan-based name in the French dub based on that very fact.

Her name might also be a reference to her Saiyan heritage, as the genus of the Chimpanzee species is called Pan.

Pan may also be an abbreviation of panties or pants, in honor of the clothing-based names of Bulma's family.

Here's the kicker: In Greek, "pan" is a prefix meaning "all". So Pan is, in fact, most likely named after all of these characters—making her a living and breathing ode to her parents' family and friends.

Tomboy with a Girly Streak: There's her love of martial arts and boyish way of dressing, but when a certain GT arc involved another's planet's marriage rituals, she said she admired the dress.

Tsundere: Type A, as her grandmother and mother, in GT. If the simplest of negative things happens to Pan, she can exaggerate its importance and set off her fiery temper, but despite these tantrums she does truly care for her family in her more sincere moments and will assist them any way she can.

Uneven Hybrid: Pan is a quarter Saiyan through her grandfather Goku and three quarter human. Oddly enough, she's considered a Saiyan despite having more human blood. She also developed faster than the half-Saiyans since she's barely a year old and can fly.

Community

Tropes HQ

TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. Privacy Policy